Discount Retail Chain Lidl Italia (owned by the German Schwarz Group), the country's leading supermarket chain, in collaboration with LC3 Trasporti and Scania, invests in sustainable technological development by equipping itself with the first battery-powered electric industrial vehicle. In detail, the new Scania BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle) , in circulation since September, has an autonomy of about 250 km and is equipped with a refrigerated box of 23 Europallets refrigerated with liquid nitrogen, a combination supplied by LC3 Trasporti which makes it possible to completely reduce CO 2 , fine dust and NO X emissions and to eliminate noise pollution. The 3-axle chassis has an electric motor with a continuous power of 230 kW (313 HP) and 295 kW (401 HP) peak, while the refrigerated box provides the possibility of obtaining two distinct areas for the transport of goods to different storage temperatures. Luca Ros, Logistics Director Lidl Italy commented on Lidl's commitment to increasingly green logistics: "Our long-term goal is the decarbonisation of transport and the launch of this new battery electric industrial vehicle is an important step forward in this direction. The operation does not end here, as in the coming months an expansion of the fleet is also planned to serve other Lidl logistics centers in Italy." A choice made possible thanks to the technologies developed by Scania, a leading company in the production of industrial vehicles, as reported by Enrique Enrich, President and CEO of Italscania : "We are convinced that this partnership will establish a reference point for the logistics system of the future and we are proud to be part of it. LIDL and LC3 are showing the courage to take the path of innovation, towards a new direction, that of electric transport. We at Scania support them in this unprecedented transition, not only as vehicle suppliers, but also in the crucial activity of analyzing operational dynamics, defining the charging infrastructure and, of course, with our services and the widespread network throughout the territory". Michele Ambrogi, President of the LC3 Trasporti Group continued by highlighting that : "In the first half of 2021 alone, thanks also to the company's commitment to guaranteeing increasingly sustainable and environmentally friendly freight transport, the means of LC3 Trasporti traveled millions of kilometers by exploiting alternative and renewable energy resources, such as Bio-CNG and Bio-LNG, with a significant reduction of polluting emissions." See here for more: https://www.gsaigieneurbana.it/slider/lidl-si-dota-del-primo-veicolo-industriale-elettrico/

Discount Retail Chain Aldi UK (German family owned) is trialling “checkout-free technology” at a store in London that allows shoppers to “pick up their shopping and simply walk out without the need to pay at a till” the discounter said. Shoppers will scan a smartphone app on entry to the store, and after exiting will receive an email receipt and be charged automatically using their chosen payment method. It is understood the tech works by monitoring what customers take from shelves, without any scanning of products required, in a similar way to Amazon’s checkout-free Fresh stores. The location of the concept store in London would not be shared by Aldi, but the discounter said it was similar in size to a typical Aldi Local, and would employ approximately the same number of colleagues. Aldi staff are currently testing the store and further trials are due to be carried out by members of the public. “We are always looking to redefine what it means to be a discount retailer, and the technology involved in this trial will give us a wealth of learnings,” said Aldi UK CEO Giles Hurley. “We are really excited to be testing this concept that will enable customers to pick from our range of quality products, all available at unbeatable prices, then leave the store without having to pay at a till,” he added. Aldi would not confirm exactly how the checkout-free technology worked, nor the provider of the technology. In April the discounter filed the trademark ‘Aldi Shop & Go’ with the Intellectual Property Office and this month applied to trademark ‘Aldi Go’. Both names are to apply to a long list food and drink and general merchandise, including the “operation of supermarkets”. Aldi Süd, the German counterpart of Aldi UK, last year posted a call for expressions of interest from technology businesses on its website. The call said the company’s current focus was on sensor-based item monitoring in stores, which might include “equipping carts, shelves, aisles, ceilings or other store furniture/hardware with sensors. Alternatively, use of handheld devices or robots.” Aldi Süd also wanted to hear from companies working on “computer vision-based product recognition” particularly in “the brick and mortar retail context”. Aldi’s “simply walk out” store trial comes as Amazon is opening Amazon Fresh “just walk out” stores across London. Amazon’s latest checkout-free store opened in Dalston earlier this month, its sixth location in the UK after the e-commerce giant launched its first physical retail site outside North America in Ealing in March. Tesco is working with tech company Trigo and has launched a checkout-free store at its headquarters in Welwyn Garden City, with a second store soon to start offering the shopping experience to the public in High Holborn. Morrisons in July revealed it was trialling an Amazon Go-style store, open only to staff but with a public launch imminent. It is working with Aifi on the technology to enable the experience, which uses only cameras to detect what customers have picked from shelves, and not the use of sensored shelves as well, as is Amazon’s approach. See here for more: https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/aldi/aldi-to-launch-checkout-free-simply-walk-out-store-in-london/659960.article

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Discount Variety Retail Chain Five Below (listed on NASDAQ: FIVE) is on track to end the year with 1,200 stores. Five Below has opened 102 stores during the first half of the year, a record number for the fast-growing tween and teen value retailer. The company opened 34 stores during its second quarter, bringing its total store count to 1,121 locations in 39 states. "We now are on track to open 170 to 175 new stores this year and end fiscal 2021 with nearly 1,200 stores, leaving us a long runway ahead to reach the 2,500-plus total store potential we believe exists in the United States," Joel Anderson, Five Below CEO, told analysts on the company's earnings call. The discounter also expects to expects to complete about 30 remodels in its current fiscal year, he added. Five Below reported that its net earnings totaled US$64.8 million, or US$1.15 a share, for the quarter ended July 31, up from US$0.53 a share in the year-ago period. Analysts had forecast earnings of US$1.11 a share. Net sales increased 51.7% to US$646.6 million last year, missing analysts’ estimates of $658 million. Same-store sales rose 39.2% compared to the year-ago quarter and 21% compared to the second quarter of 2019. In a press release, Anderson stated that the third quarter is off to a "strong start from a sales perspective." “We are innovating across our three key strategic priorities: product, experience and supply chain, where the teams are working diligently to mitigate the impact of global disruptions," he said. "We are confident that our Wow assortment, the flexibility of our unique model with eight worlds and our new Five Beyond offering, combined with the operating discipline of our teams across the organization, will continue to serve us well as we drive sustainable long-term growth and realize our 2,500-plus store potential in the U.S.” For the third quarter, Five Below is expecting earnings of US$0.23 to US$0.30 share on sales of US$550 million to US$565 million. But citing the “uncertainty related to COVID-19, potential future shifts in consumer spending, and ongoing global supply chain disruption,” the company did not provide full-year sales or earnings guidance. See here for more: https://chainstoreage.com/five-below-q2-earnings-more-double-track-open-170-175-stores-year

Discount Retail Operating Chain Eurotorg and Belarus' biggest retailer has reported a 10.5% year-on-year growth in net retail sales to BYN 2.4 billion (US$961 million) in the first half of its financial year. The company attributed this growth to new store openings, as well as a 3.6% growth in like-for-like sale. Like-for-like sales structure continued to reflect changes in customer behaviour in this period, with like-for-like traffic decreasing by 6.5% and like-for-like average ticket increasing by 10.7%, Eurotorg noted. Elsewhere, sales density increased by 3.5% year-on-year in BYN terms to BYN 1,140 (US$ 458) per square meter per month in the first half. 'Strong Operating Performance' Eurotorg CEO, Andrei Zubkou, said, "Eurotorg's financial results for the first half were a logical continuation of the company's strong operating performance, which was characterised by the continued growth of like-for-like sales and new store openings." The gross margin decreased marginally by 0.4 percentage points to 24.3% due to the rapid expansion of the company's discounter formats, which include soft discounters operating under the Hit! banner and hard discounters under the Groshyk banner. The number of stores operating under the Hit! banner increased to 309 from 116 localities, while Groshyk outlets grew to 46 stores from 19 localities. The contribution of discounters to the company's revenue increased to 24.6%, compared to 17.5% in the first half of 2020, Eurotorg added. The retailer reported an EBITDA growth of 12.5% year-on-year, amounting to BYN 228.1 million (US$92 million). EBITDA margin grew by 0.2 percentage points to 8.4% as lower operating expenses offset the decrease in the gross margin. As of 30 June 2021, the company's store network comprised 987 grocery stores. In the first half, Eurotorg fast-tracked new openings, adding 69 stores, including 58 convenience stores. Nine stores also closed in the first half, taking the net new store openings to 60. Outlook Commenting on the company's outlook for the remainder of the year, Zubkou, said, "In the second half of the year, we will continue to focus on consolidating the progress we have achieved to date, and to develop our business by executing further on our asset-light growth strategy." "We maintain comfortable leverage in terms of timing and volume and continue to explore opportunities for further optimisation of our debt portfolio. In March 2021, we successfully placed our third bond issue of RUB 3.5 billion (US$48 million) on Moscow Exchange, helping us to reduce currency risk and increase the maturity of our debt portfolio," he added. The company reported a 13.2% increase in net retail sales in the second quarter of its financial year, and is on track to open its 1,000th store later this year. See here for more: https://www.esmmagazine.com/retail/eurotorg-sees-net-retail-sales-10-5-first-half-146619

Discount Retail Chain Aldi Spain (German family owned) plans to buy around 3,500 tons of seasonal fruit and vegetables of national origin, 10% more than in 2020. ALDI's autumn season fruit and vegetables come from suppliers in the Valencian Community, Murcia, Andalusia, Catalonia and the Basque Country. The company will buy more than 1,700 tons of mandarin oranges of Spanish origin this fall, being the seasonal fruit with the highest purchase volume at ALDI. Specifically, the company will acquire seasonal fruit, such as mandarins, persimmons, pomegranates, pears, grapes and chestnuts, among others, and vegetables, such as sweet potatoes, cabbages, potatoes, artichokes and camagrocs (mushrooms), of national origin. ALDI bets on Spanish suppliers Due to its origin, the fruit and vegetables from suppliers in the Valencian Community and Murcia, regions where the company will acquire more than 2,600 tons of mandarins, persimmons, pomegranates, grapes and artichokes this fall, stand out especially. ALDI will also collaborate with Andalusian suppliers, mainly from the provinces of Córdoba, Huelva, Cádiz, Seville and Málaga for seasonal products such as mandarins, sweet potatoes and custard apples. Also noteworthy are the pears from Lleida and Gerona, the potatoes from Álava and the camagrocs from Catalonia. Tangerines: the best-selling seasonal fruit at ALDI Mandarins are one of the company's fresh seasonal products with the highest volume of purchase, representing practically 50% of the total sales of autumn fruits and vegetables. ALDI plans to acquire more than 1,700 tons of mandarins grown in Spain this year, 10% more than the previous season. Through the purchase of Spanish mandarins grown mostly in the Valencian Community (Alicante, Castellón and Valencia), Andalusia (Córdoba and Huelva), Murcia and Catalonia (Tarragona), the discounter chain consolidates its commitment to local products and its commitment to national suppliers. See here for more: https://www.aldi.es/somos-aldi/conocenos/sala-prensa/nuestras-noticias/aldi-confia-proveedores-nacionales-para-compra-frutas-y-verduras-temporada.html?utm_source=LinkedIn&utm_medium=Social_CM&utm_campaign=generic

Discount Retail Chain Poundstretcher (family owned) has bounced back in the space of just one year since being forced to enter a CVA in 2020. The discounter made pre-tax profits of £30 million (US$42 million) in the 12 months to March thanks to renegotiating onerous leases, closing loss-making stores and making around 250 redundancies. In 2020, with the approval of 95% of the company’s creditors, Poundstretcher carried out a CVA which has led to the company returning to profit after it made losses of £49.5million (US$ 69million) in the financial year ending 31 March 2020. The CVA saw the company restructure its cost base and since the change and in spite of the CVA, Covid and Brexit, the company, which is debt free, has been trading at profit with an average of £20million (US$28 million) cash in the bank each week. The restructure means that for the financial year ending in March 2021 the company has an (unaudited) EBITDA of £46.7million (US$65 million). Aziz Tayub, co-owner and chief executive of the chain believes this figure would have been higher were it not for £8 million (US$11 million) additional costs, including fees of £3 million (US$4.1 million) to KPMG for the CVA, and the cost of closing its former Huddersfield base. He said: “We talked to the landlords before the CVA about reduced rent or rent holidays. Some agreed to talk, but it was unfortunately not enough to save the company. With the CVA, we planned on closing 75 loss-making stores, which rose to 90, taking the total down to 360.” The business employs nearly 5,500 staff, and the turnaround came despite sales falling from £434 million (US$600 million) to £325 million (US$450 million) in the space of two years. Poundstretcher was able to keep trading through lockdown as an essential supplier and remained stable for the first time in years, with £200 million (US$277 million) worth of stock split between its stores and main Kirby Muxloe warehouse in Leicestershire. Twenty-one new stores were opened in the six months from December 2020. Mr Tayub attributes the success of the business to his supportive staff and management team, including his son Shehzad, the company’s operations director. “The CVA gave us time to breathe, we could not have afforded paying rents on closed stores. Literally every store is profitable now. We felt that a CVA offered us the best solution to the issues we had faced in 2019/20. Since we restructured our cost base, we have traded at a profit every week.” See here for more: https://www.theretailbulletin.com/general-merchandise/poundstretcher-records-an-80-million-turnaround-in-profits-in-one-year-08-09-2021/

Discount Retail Chain Lidl's (owned by the German Schwarz Group) international climate strategy is also significantly accelerating the company's goals in Finland. Lidl intends to be Finland's first carbon-neutral retail chain in 2022. Lidl has been doing determined climate work for several years. Now the company has released a new international climate strategy that builds on concrete measures and is based on the methods of the Science Based Targets initiative. In line with the Paris Climate Conference, the aim is to curb global warming to 1.5 degrees. Global warming has a direct impact on our business, food and raw materials. As a grocery store, it is important for us to take action to curb climate change so that we can offer customers a comprehensive range and affordable prices in the future as well, says Jenni Hakkarainen, Lidl's responsibility expert. Lidl’s parent company, Schwarz Group, joined the Science Based Targets initiative in August 2020 and committed to setting itself science-based climate goals. Lidl's international climate strategy supports the parent company's ambitious SBTi goals. Internationally, Lidl aims to reduce emissions from its own operations by 80 percent by 2030 compared to 2019. In 2022, Lidl will switch to the use of electricity produced from renewable energy in all operating countries. The company then offsets the remaining emissions from its own operations through certified climate projects, and is carbon neutral for its own operations. In addition, Lidl aims for suppliers, which account for 75% of product emissions internationally, to set their own science-based climate targets by 2026. Lidl has operations in 32 countries and the measures of the international climate strategy extend to all of them. Lidl is one of the largest private retail chains in Europe, and therefore the effectiveness of our climate work is, of course, in a class of its own, Hakkarainen reminds. Emissions from own operations include the company's direct greenhouse gas emissions, such as emissions from the use of refrigerants and own cars, and emissions from purchased energy, ie emissions from used natural gas, electricity and heating. In Finland, we are already looking at the following goals In Finland, Lidl has used electricity produced exclusively from renewable sources since 2019. The transition to wind power reduced Lidl Finland's own emissions by 65 percent. However, the Sustainability Expert welcomes the international tightening on the climate front: Thanks to the compensation, we will be carbon neutral in our own operations already in 2022. We are hugely proud of this and we will certainly celebrate for a while, but the climate work will continue. The international climate strategy also encourages us to work to reduce indirect emissions. We will continue to work to reduce emissions from, for example, transportation, waste and consumer goods - not forgetting emissions from supply chains. The biggest emissions come from products, Hakkarainen says. Lidl Finland's responsibility program has published several actions and targets aimed at reducing emissions: Lidl invests in its own energy production. Solar power is already produced in more than 20 stores and two distribution centers. In the future, solar panels will be installed in all our own new stores. Solar power plants are also added to the roofs of existing stores whenever possible. The goal is for 20% of Lidl's properties to produce renewable energy by 2025. Lidl skimps on energy use and increases energy efficiency. Electricity is saved e.g. with led lighting, renewing equipment and fine-tuning the use of electricity in stores. All Lidl employees are trained to work as an energy saver in their own work. Lidl is the only store chain in Finland to use the ISO 50001 energy management system. It is a global energy management management standard, the acquisition and maintenance of which requires continuous assessment of energy use and the setting of new targets, as well as the training of personnel. Lidl aims to reduce emissions from the transports it purchases. The goal is that by 2025, 20% of the transport fleet will be vehicles running on renewable or low-emission energy. Lidl minimizes waste with appropriate packaging. Our goal is to use 20% less plastic in packaging by 2025, increase the use of recycled plastic in packaging and use only fully recyclable plastic packaging in our own products. Lidl aims to keep its own recycling rate above 90%. Lidl reduces paper usage. In the autumn of 2020, the page size of the weekly advertising magazine was reduced and as much as 1,300 tons of paper are saved per year. This year, in 2021, the Liedellä customer magazine will go online. Lidl actively combats food waste. The goal is to keep food loss per kilogram below 1.5 percent. See here for more: https://www.epressi.com/tiedotteet/kauppa/lidl-aikoo-hiilineutraaliksi-jo-vuonna-2022.html#.YTOoi8i-UkQ.linkedin

Discount Retail Chain Lidl's (owned by the German Schwarz Group) net sales increased by 6.1 percent during the financial year to EUR 1,784 million (US$2.1Bn). Lidl made an operating profit of EUR 78.7 million (US$ 95Mn) and its gross investments during the financial year were EUR 54 million (US$ 65Mn). According to Sami Pyykönen, Lidl's Administrative Director, the chain's increased turnover is a result of the chain's investment in the customer experience. During the financial year, Lidl says that it has reduced the prices of its products and renovated its stores. “The effects of the home year of the Crown Year are also visible. We have been more likely to buy food and buy more, ”Pyykönen says in the company's press release. During the financial year, Lidl also opened seven new stores. During the financial year ended, Lidl says that it employed an average of 5,487 people, which is 283 more than in the previous year. In connection with its financial statements, Lidl also published a sustainability report, which summarizes the results of the company's sustainability work for two financial years. According to Lidl, the report highlights climate actions such as the circular economy, low food waste and the reduction of plastic from packaging. Lidl also says that it will strive for carbon neutrality in its own operations next year. The company defines the emissions of its own operations as its direct greenhouse gas emissions, such as emissions from the use of refrigerants and cars, as well as emissions from purchased energy. See here for more: https://www.hs.fi/talous/art-2000008238085.html

Discount Variety Retail Chain Dealz (owned by Steinhoff International)has confirmed it is to expand its stores in Ireland over the next three years, with a possibility that up to 500 new roles could be created. Dealz is exploring opportunities, “particularly within smaller, regional areas” such as Galway, Donegal, Mayo, Tipperary, Wicklow, Leitrim, Meath, Kildare, Kerry, Clare, Louth, Sligo, Limerick and Waterford, as well as suburbs of Dublin. Barry Williams, managing director at Pepco’s UK business Poundland and Dealz, spoke to the Irish Independent this morning announcing the move. The retailer confirmed the move in a statement this afternoon. Dealz opened its first store in 2011 and has opened a total of 78 stores across Ireland. Many items are priced at €1.50 (US$1.80), with almost 60% of items at €5 (US$6) or less. Over the coming weeks, Dealz stores in Dublin (Liffey Street), Cavan, Castleisland and Wexford, will have new or extended ‘Pepco’ departments, which are ‘shop-in-shops’ offering women’s, men’s and kids’ clothes. In recent months, Dealz has hired over 120 staff, including in new or refurbished stores in Carrickmines, Ballymun and Mullingar. The opening of a 930 sq m Carrickmines Dealz store in April this year was described as “a major milestone” by the retail chain. See here for more: https://www-thejournal-ie.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.thejournal.ie/dealz-ireland-investment-5534938-Aug2021/?amp=1

Discount Textile Retail Chain the Polish-British textile trade group Pepco Group (owned by Steinhoff International) has taken the German market visor. According to media reports, she wants to expand 2022 to Germany. The fashion and budgetary chain was founded in Poland in 2004 and now operates 3,200 shops in 16 countries, including more than 1,000 in Poland alone. Only in May Spain has come to this. Within two years, the company, which includes the British discounter Poundland, opened over 300 new businesses. As a period for the first openings, the coming spring is called. We are looking for land in skilled market and shopping centers in cities with over 20,000 inhabitants, so the company. From autumn, the company wants to make the search for employees in Germany. Pepco wants to create in this country to the 200 new jobs. https://fashionunited.de/nachrichten/einzelhandel/textil-discounter-pepco-startet-in-deutschland/2021090342609

Brothers Sergey and Andrei Schneider, owners of the Svetofor, opened more than 50 discounter MERE branded stores outside Russia during four years. How does Siberian entrepreneurs build a discounter empire abroad and on which buyer is counting? In the penultimate day of January 2019, hunters for large discounts came to the outskirts of German Leipzig. The Germans attracted the news about the opening of the new MERE store the Russian clone Aldi and Lidl (popular network of hard discounters in Germany). No one expected such success on the first day: in front of the cash desks, in the aisles between the pallets and the boxes lined up huge queues. Macaroni, canned, soap, wine and household goods Mere offered at prices by 20% less than that of competitors. Two days later, the store in Leipzig had to close, as all products were in out of stock. At that time, Torgservis managed in Russia and the near abroad more than 900 stores of his flagship brand "Svetofor" and dozens of hypermarkets "Mayak". But the owners of the family business, Sergey and Andrei Schneider, captured a new idea expansion to Europe. The pandemic slowed down, but did not stop the process: today there are already more than 50 low-price stores Mere working in Germany, Poland, Spain, Great Britain, Romania, Ukraine, the Baltic countries, etc. "Yacht and the villas have never had" In 2021, Valentine Schneider and family #182 were first included in the rating of 200 richest Russians according to Forbes, taking in it the 182nd line with a state estimate of US$ 650 million. From communication with Forbes, entrepreneurs always refuse. Refused this time. How did the German edition of Handelsblatt notice, with its non-public Schneider's look like the founders of the German network Aldi, the brothers Karl and Theodore Albrecht. Schneiders come from Krasnoyarsk, where they started their first business. "Despite the fact that by the origin, they are the Germans living in Russia," tells a familiar businessman from Krasnoyarsk. The modest, yachts and the villas have never had. "In 1994, they created the company "Lenk", which was engaged in distribution of beer and low alcohol drinks (worked with "Baltic", "Ochakovo", "Heineken" and grew up in large regional wholesaler), and a chain of alcohol stores, tobacco and snacks "FIRST". However, the real success of the Schneider brothers brought another project, shops of cheap goods of the daily demand "Svetefor". "They have a businessman's business," says Forbes interlocutor. The modern structure of ownership of assets is very similar to the one that was in the "Lenkom": the older, Sergey, the share of more, the younger, Andrei less (according to Spark Interfax, Sergey: 61.3%, from Andrei: 3.2%. Forbes). Their mother is a pensioner. Connections do yourself. " Valentina Schneider officially owns a controlling stake in the Torgservis Group and has long been retired, like its 82-year-old husband Ivan, who is also registered as a shareholder of many more than 100 family trading companies. In 2009, when Krasnoyarsk businessmen decided to build a discounter network Svetofor, it was an absolutely new concept. The Svetofor business model excluded all the extra charges of logistics, storage of goods, shop lighting, advertising, chat with the press. There are no shelves in the stores, no counters the goods are sold straight out of the boxes and with wooden pallet. The minimum charge allows you to keep prices in the Svetofor 20-30% lower than the average. Each year reducing incomes of the population made hard discounters with very popular shops first in native for Siberia Schneiders, and then beyond. Today, retail business unites the Torgservis Group of Companies. It manages the discount retail networks Svetofor with more than 3,000 stores. The Group's revenue of 2020 amounted to 189 billion rubles (US$2.6 billion according to Infoline's assessment). Over the past year, the figure grew by 39%, thus, the company became the fastest growing in the FMCG segment in Russia in 2020. At the end of 2020, according to Infoline, the volume of trading areas of the Torgservis Group of Companies amounted to 1.25 million square meters. M, the company entered the four largest retailers in terms of areas after the Magnit, X5 Retail Group. In terms of sales, the company is included in the top 7 Russian food retailers. Since 2017, entrepreneurs have decided to enter the international level and entered with the discounters in Kazakhstan and Belarus. On one of the Retailer sites it is indicated that from the same moment preparations began to open stores under the new laconic sign MERE (translated from the English. "Simple, clean, ordinary." - Forbes). Surimi and Sea Cabbage The conquest of Romania, the first country with which Schneiders began expansion to Europe, was not easy. In October 2018, Mere opened its doors to residents of Snag Commune, located 40 km from Bucharest. Schneiders needed almost a year to do this, although it was planned to open 15 discounters in 2018. "Everything went very hard: there were problems with coordination, equipment," frankly complained during the opening of the manager of the Romanian Mere Daniel Vasile. Going to the new market, Mere announced that it would become the cheapest rigid discounter in the country (at the local level the main competitors are market leading German Lidl and Penny Market). "Our progenitor is Svetofor from Russia, and we are almost a clone of their stores," said Vasile. Our main advantage is the price of 20% below the market. It is difficult, but if we don't succeed, the goods simply will not expire on our account." The concept of MERE largely repeats the already rolled model of the Russian "Svetefor". Shop area from 800 to 1,200 square meters. Mere should be located on the first floor of a non-residential building on the outskirts of a middle or small town, where people live "with low financial potential." Be sure to parking for 30-40 cars. The room, which is rented, should have a convenient entrance for cars, the central entrance for buyers and cargo gates with the possibility of accessing and unloading vehicles with a trailer 20 tons. The remoteness from educational institutions and churches is important to meet the requirement of a license to trade alcohol. In addition, a separate item indicates the presence of at least a five-year warranty on the floor, which must withstand goods on the pallets and in boxes weighing up to 3 tons per square. m. The average number of store personnel is about 11 people, and investments make up less than a € 0.1 million (US$ 0.12 million). According to the manager in Romania, the store receives the first profit after launch. The range averages from 800 to 2,000 brands (one third of them is non-food) little-known brands for Europeans or Surbs of large manufacturers from Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Hungary, Germany, Turkey. Most of the goods in the store are long-term storage, nothing of the category "Oltrosvene" is not for sale (fruits and vegetables, fresh fish, semi-finished products), and the most perishable products are sausages. Conditions for working with MERE are even more rigid than with the Svetofor: the price of goods, taking into account the delivery to the store, should be 20-30% lower than in competitors stores. This can be achieved, for example, by reducing the cost of packaging. "We do not need a bright, attracting the packaging. Compared with the known brands with a reputation, the difference must be 50%, "is indicated on the Polish site MERE. The supplier must deliver the goods to each store on its own and at its own expense and provide the ability to return 100% of non-sold goods (consigment stock). MERE is calculated with suppliers weekly depending on the amount of quantity. Responsibility for issuing a transport of imported products through customs also carries the supplier. The Belarusian company "Santa Bremor", one of the largest manufacturers of fish products (herring, caviar, canned food) in Europe, cooperates with the Light Phone Network for more than five years. A broad geography was published in 2020 (discounters in Siberia, Volga region, TsFE, SFO, in the North Caucasus). In the 2021th, the company began to cooperate with the MERE network in Germany. "We have developed a range and packaging solutions for a specific network request," says Yaroslav Bondarchuk, Deputy Director for Santa Bremor. From the product categories of our portfolio, the most sought-after MERE Surimi, sea cabbage, herring, caviar cavity in sauce. " A large Belarusian manufacturer of Belprodukt chips has concluded a contract with MERE recently, since May 2021. "Today, deliveries to the network at the initial level are the volumes of 10 pallet. The delivery was at the Moscow Warehouse, which countries left the products - no information, "comments Belprodukt Marketing Specialist Leonid Milto. Another counterparty MERE is the largest, according to Nielsen, the Russian manufacturer of cotton products and wet wipes Cotton Club (Aura brands, "I am the most" and other). It supplies products to the Svetofor network, and from recently and to German stores Mere. Officially, representatives of the Company refused to comment on cooperation due to the "lack of results", which will appear only by the middle of the autumn. Aldi from the 60s The second European country, where the MERE network came, was Germany. German newspapers Natrey headlines on the threat of Lidl and Aldi empires (12,000 and 10,000 stores, respectively) by the "brothers from Siberia who want to attack German discounters." Buyers called Mere "Aldi from the 1960s" when sales went straight from the pallet and boxes. In the fall of 2017, TS Markt GmbH was registered in Berlin with an authorized capital € 25,000. "GmbH is a property form for ownership in Germany, analogue of Russian Limited Liability Company (LLC). The minimum capital for the opening of such a company is € 25,000, "commented by an entrepreneur from Germany Victoria Quint (engaged in real estate management, as well as food production). According to the register of companies in Germany Unternehmensregister, TS Markt GmbH registered areas of activities such as import and export, wholesale and retail sale of various goods (in particular, home products, consumer goods and food products), as well as logistics and forwarding services, management own assets, purchase, sale, lease, management of own real estate. For two years, TS Markt has opened six stores in various German cities located mainly in the eastern part of the country. Such a choice is economically beneficial for "Torgservis", which works with suppliers from Eastern Europe: if goods are currently purchased from these countries, Mere can do without an expensive central warehouse, spoke of the LEBENSMITTEL Zeitung publication in February 2019 Thomas Rob, Professor of the University of Applied Sciences Bonn- Rhine Zig and retailers consultant. Another reason for choosing Eastern Europe is the population. "Preferably, these are people who have moved to a permanent residence in Germany from the former Union," said Forbes a resident of the western part of Germany, who was interviewed by the Mere Development Manager. According to him, the vacancy was not very interesting: "The company is interested in local Germans who know Russian and German, but it offers incommensurately low taxes in Germany wages only € 3,000 per month (depending on the tax status worker loses up to 30 % from the sum). In addition, the employer refused to reimburse the cost of mobile communications and transport, although the work implies many calls and travel to suppliers and landlords, and does not provide a computer." The interview was conducted by a Russian employee who was in Russia and complained about the problems with the design of a visa for relocation to Germany. Shop management Schneiders are trusted mainly "their own." Viktor Gorodetsky, appointed by the Managing Director of TS Markt GmbH at the end of 2020, was previously a regional manager of almost 70 discount stores Svetofor in the Sverdlovsk region (according to Spark Interfax, the region is considered the second to revenue in Russia). Managing Director of the company in Zwikau Vadim Popov previously worked as a shop manager in Tatarstan. In Germany, Mere continues expansion along the Russian model: the business in each new region is highlighted as an independent legal entity, these legal signs are consistently numbered. For example, the first branch in Leipzig is registered in the retail register as TS-Markt 101 GmbH, it works in Zvikau called TS-Markt 102 GmbH, and so on. The authorized capital of each German Jurlitz (now four of them, according to the UNTERNEHMENSRegister register) is minimal € 25,000 (US$ 30,000). With the Berlin Head Office TS Markt GmbH, he expanded to € 725,000 (US$850,000), according to the results of 2019, on the company's balance sheet € 925,556 - US$1.2Mn (the indicator includes the amount of authorized capital and revenue), the amount of obligations € 10,458 (US$12,500). "According to the standards of German business, this is a fairly large company. Counterparties often pay attention to the amount of capital, and the more larger, the more confidence in the company and the more willing the suppliers and other counterparties are working with you. The volume of liabilities is 10% of the balance insignificant, "confirms Victoria Quint. Compared with the turnover of Svetofor (189 billion rubles, or about € 2.3 billion, US$2.8 Bn), the numbers are small, but Schneiders continue to expansion to Europe. Post-shaped perfect store One of the most long-awaited was the discovery of the MERE store in the southern town of Czestochowa in Poland in July 2020. "Torgservis" was going to open eight stores MERE in 2018 and develop a network of more than 100 stores in the country, but in the end I had to wait for more than two years. Nevertheless, the local press called the late debut Mere gift of fate, because during the coronavirus clients try to minimize spending on food. For such people, a hard discounter is the perfect store. Today in Poland four MERE stores running under the name TorgServis PL. The report on the results of 2019 states that the company's balance sheet contains 886,840,80 zł (about € 200,000, US$240,000), a loss amounted to 592,616,56 zł (about € 130,000, US$155,000). At the end of 2020, the TorgServis PL balance grown fourly to 3.33 million zł (about € 726,000, US$880,000), a loss 1.3 million zlotys (about € 287,000, US$330,000). The pandemic slowed down, but did not cancel the plans of the Schneider brothers to fill in Europe with cheap stores. Over the past year and a half, the MERE brand expanded geography by opening discounters not only in Romania, Germany and Poland, but also in Baltic States, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Spain, Great Britain, Greece. Plans: Italy, Serbia, Austria and France. In August, it became known that the Svetofor group wants to open MERE stores in the United States. This confirms the information posted on the Greek Network Portal: Svetofor confidently develops in Greece, Portugal, France, USA, Great Britain and other countries. " Mere has published a vacancy of a commercial real estate specialist, preferably with the knowledge of the Russian language, on Linkedin, the retailer is considering premises in the states of Alabama and Georgia. American analysts have already called Mere "a soulless ultradiscount" with big discounts on food. In their opinion, the progenitors of format, Aldi (2,000 stores) and American Save A Lot (1,300 stores) have long refused this approach. According to Forbes estimates, about 50 MERE stores are now opened outside of Russia (according to Google Maps cards, as well as Numerous Torgservis Sites: Mere-Store.com, Mereletail.com, Mere-Discounter.com and Sites in those domain zones, Where the retailer works). Thus, Schneiders have already spent on expansion outside of Russia at least € 50 million (or 4.3 billion rubles, US$60Mn). In Spain, Torgservice launched a large office in Barcelona, ​​with development departments, procurement and IT, which employs 40 employees. Regional teams consist mainly from Russian employees. "While the staff is fully staffed, but next year it is planned to develop on the full program and open shops in all major cities of Spain. Then, a set of employees will be announced in the central office in Barcelona with the knowledge of Spanish and Russian, "said the development manager in Valencia, Dmitry Lyapin, explained the Forbes correspondent. Professor Thomas Rob from the University of Bonn-Rhine Zig believes that even if Mere will open hundreds of stores in East Germany, as planning his share will not be 10% of the share of existing discounters in this region. "In the short term, the concept can work, but it does not threaten large German discounters," said Thomas Toyuba from Accenture Germany. Target group of people who depend on cheap goods at all costs, too small. One of the most difficult tasks for MERE will be the creation of large and reliable connections with suppliers. " The leaders of the Russian retail market X5 and "Magnit" once also were full of skepticism with respect to Svetofor, but in the 2020th began to develop the formats of their own hard discounters. See here for more: https://www.forbes.ru/biznes/437333-russkiy-aldi-kak-vladelcy-magazinov-svetofor-stroyat-roznichnuyu-set-v-evrope